Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist

ABOUT THE WORK

Victorio Edades planted the seeds of revolt in the art scene in the Philippines. He believed that art is “practically dead” in his home country during the early 1900s since the themes were similar and the techniques were following the traditionalists’ philosophy on painting. In 1922, the Armory Show in New York opened his eyes and that of the American public to the artistic ferment in Europe led by Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse, Picasso, Duchamp, the surrealists, and the Dadaists. While it drew outcries from the conservative public, it gave Edades the artistic direction he was looking for. Deviating from the academic style, while retaining some of its characteristics, he executed two paintings in 1928: The Sketch and The Builders. His works and efforts were at first criticized and even ridiculed by the “traditionalists” or the “conservatives” of the Philippine art circle and even by the public. Instead of introducing Modernism with exhibitions, he shifted strategies and conducted his campaign through teaching. With much persistence, Edades along with Galo Ocampo and Carlos “Botong” Francisco---known as the triumvirate of Modern art---championed the new art style in the Philippine art scene. His portraits are an integral part of his oeuvre; a few of them, in fact, bear his highest achievements. Edades was still able to paint a portrait of a young lady with a modernist streak, with the decorative character less marked (although still very much here) and the figure set against a mottled but featureless background, which produces a powerful sense of presence.